An AI model trained on data collected from users of Pok\u00e9mon Go will potentially help military drones find their location in war zones.<\/p>\n
Pok\u00e9mon Go, a 2016 augmented reality mobile game, allowed players to find and catch Pok\u00e9mon<\/a> in the real world using the cameras on their mobile phones, and exploded in popularity. In 2018, the company reported having more than 800m downloads<\/a> worldwide.<\/p>\n A 2021 update to the game introduced Pok\u00e9stops, which gave players in-game rewards for scanning real locations using their devices. It required users to opt in and upload the recording.<\/p>\n Niantic, which created Pok\u00e9mon in partnership with Nintendo, collected users\u2019 location scan data before the company sold its gaming division in 2025.<\/p>\n The historical scans were used to train the company\u2019s AI models to recognise and interpret spaces in the physical world.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n After reporting from DroneXL<\/a> this week, Niantic confirmed a partnership with Vantor, a company that specialises in spatial detection software for drones, including those used by some militaries.<\/p>\n The agreement is designed to allow drones to navigate and coordinate precisely in areas where GPS is not available.<\/p>\n \u201cThe partnership addresses a critical vulnerability in modern operations: GPS unavailability, spoofing, interference, and jamming,\u201d the December announcement stated. \u201cWhen satellite signals are compromised, autonomous systems and field teams lose their ability to orient, coordinate or maintain accurate situational awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n Vantor\u2019s chief product officer, Peter Wilczynski, highlighted the benefits of the two companies working together in a December interview<\/a> with Tectonic Defence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe modern battle space is going to be complete with different systems, and you\u2019re going to want to upgrade those systems quickly\u2014bringing new hardware online faster than new software,\u201d Wilczynski said.<\/p>\n Both companies told Guardian Australia that ground scans from the game were not provided to Vantor as part of the partnership, but the scans from Pok\u00e9mon Go were used to train Niantic\u2019s foundation models.<\/p>\n \u201cAR Scans collected through Pok\u00e9mon Go were submitted voluntarily by players who opted into the feature and were subject to the applicable Terms of Service and Privacy Policy at the time,\u201d the Niantic spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Both companies said the partnership was still in its early stages.<\/p>\n Tom Sulston, head of policy for tech policy think tank Digital Rights Watch said the use of civilian data for military ends was troubling.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile they may have disclaimers in their Ts&Cs, we know that most people don\u2019t read vast legal documents when they want to play a video game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need regulators to focus on \u2018best interests of the user\u2019 or \u2018fair and reasonable\u2019 tests to keep users safe from exploitation like this.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we\u2019re waiting for the government to catch up, it\u2019s important that we remember that \u2018free\u2019 software services often treat the user not as a customer but as the product to be sold.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Rob Nicholls, senior researcher associated at the University of Sydney\u2019s centre for AI, trust and governance, said the case was likely the tip of the iceberg regarding data collected from apps being used for other purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have already seen that Strava data has been used to identify the location of military facilities,\u201d he said. \u201cIndeed, directives not to use devices with GPS and sharing have come from a number of different militaries.\u201d<\/p>\n Vantor announced in February<\/a> a deal with the US Army of up to US$217m for training software.<\/p>\n